Squash players try their Asian luck

4-man squad to head to Doha today for regional championship.

KARACHI:

Pakistan’s four-man squad will leave for Doha today to take part in the Asian Squash Championship.

Farhan Mehboob, Farhan Zaman, Nasir Iqbal and Sheikh Saqib Yousuf will be accompanied by Jamshed Gul (coach) and Sher Ali Kakar (manager) for the event where Pakistan has been placed in group D alongside China, Kuwait and Sri Lanka. Two sides from each group will progress into the next round.

Gul is predicting Pakistan to reach the semi-finals despite a strong challenge in the event.

“We have a good squad and we should make it to the semis at least,” he told The Express Tribune. “India and Malaysia will provide a tough challenge to all teams though. As far as the squad’s concerned, Mehboob’s form is a bit of a concern despite a good show during training.”

Gul felt that Mehboob’s time away from PSA events could be a reason behind his off-colour show but added that the player was spoken to and reminded to concentrate on his own results.

Nasir, meanwhile, is carrying an injury and there are fears that an aggravation could leave Pakistan without their full squad as the rules do not allow reserve players to be part of the event.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2012.